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In this question - Why was the Triwizard Cup used as the portkey?, it is answered, (and accepted by everyone who commented ), that the intention of going over so elaborate a procedure to make Harry hold a portkey is to keep Voldemort's return to power a secret. But isn't there a simple way (maybe many more) that would give away his return ? Like the dark mark on Snape's arm? Wouldn't Snape tell Dumbledore right away when he sensed the summon to the graveyard? Mind you, Voldemort at that time thought Snape had "left him forever", so he didn't count on him keeping it a secret from Dumbledore. So, anybody got anything for this?

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    Wait, so this is a self-declared not real question?
    – Möoz
    Sep 4, 2017 at 5:45
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    From Snape's explanation to Fudge, and from the fact that he tries use the Mark as a proof to convince Fudge, and also from the fact that Karkaroff fled that night, we can say for certain that Snape knew for sure that Voldemort was back, as did the rest of the Death Eaters. And that Dumbledore would have taken his word for it, even if Voldemort had succeeded in murdering Harry, and sent back his body to Hogwarts to make it seem like an accident. So, this is a valid question, since it negates the premise that Harry was guided through the tournament only to ensure Voldemort's secret return.
    – Anya Mae
    Sep 4, 2017 at 7:16
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    It also raises a different question in my mind - Even though it makes sense that Voldemort wanted to keep his return a secret to create confusion and fear, given that part of the reason Voldemort wanted to kill Harry himself was to prove to the world that he was all-powerful and that baby Harry defeating him was a mere accident, it seems odd that he would want to hush up the fact that he succeeded in killing Harry. Doesn't making it seem like an accident undermine his(V's) prowess?
    – Anya Mae
    Sep 4, 2017 at 7:26
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    Harry's body might not be returned. Everybody could think that he disappeared in the maze, Voldemort could preserve his body and then display it someday later to achieve his desired wow effect. If everything worked according to LV's plan, nobody would uncover and interrogate Barty Jr. Dumbledore would know about LV, but Dumbledore alone couldn't do much at this point. He could make educated guesses about what happened, but he wouldn't know for sure and nobody outside of Hogwarts would believe him (which moreless happened anyways).
    – doomista
    Sep 4, 2017 at 7:53
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    I think that if you edit your question to something like, "Wouldn't Snape's Dark Mark have given Voldemort's return away?" (or words to that effect) then it'll be eligible for reopening. It seems like that's what you want to ask about rather than portkeys. Sep 6, 2017 at 9:58

2 Answers 2

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The Dark Mark spell (Morsmordre) was created by Lord Voldemort and shrouded in mystery. It's unlikely that how it worked for sure was known to anyone but Voldemort and, to a lesser extent, the Death Eaters themselves. It fading and then flaring up again could have meant anything as far as the Ministry was concerned. After all, the Mark hadn't faded completely in 1981, but everyone (but Dumbledore) still assumed Voldemort was quite dead.

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I think the main point of why The Death Eaters and Voldemort were trying to keep it secret was partly so that it was only suspected that Voldemort was back to power and also so that no one knew he wasn't just alive again but just as (if not more because he had Harry's blood) powerful as he ever was. What I am saying is that Snape's Dark Mark would have given away the return but not the exact time or the details.

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    This is slightly confusing to read. Who is "they"? The Death Eaters?
    – amflare
    Dec 18, 2017 at 21:10
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    So what's the answer to the question about Snape's Dark Mark? Dec 19, 2017 at 8:45

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